Rolling bearings are common mechanical elements that are used in many different applications. There are different kinds of rolling bearings, which are designed to fulfill different requirements. Depending on the conditions of a specific application, i.e. load level, rotation speed, temperature etc., there are different kinds of suitable rolling bearings. One bearing type is spherical roller bearing (SRB). This bearing is designed to accommodate large radial loads and some axial loads, but also it is designed to be able to accommodate shaft deflections, i.e. the bearing rings are able to be relatively misaligned. Thus, this bearing is especially suitable for more demanding industrial applications, such as machines in pulp & paper industry, wind turbines etc.
For some SRB types there is a groove on the outer ring, in which groove there are a number of lubrication bores. The groove is designed to be as narrow as possible for not affecting the load carrying capacity of the bearing. The purpose of the groove is to receive lubricant from the outside and to therefrom enter the lubricant into the inside of the bearing via the lubrication bores. The lubricant may for example be oil or grease.
For most rolling bearing types, including SRB, there may be an advantage to standardize the design so it is applicable to several different applications. On the other hand, in recent years, the need for more customized bearings has been recognized to even better fulfill certain customer needs.